Christopher BarrettPan-European promoter, ticketing and venue giant Deutsche Entertainment Aktiengesellschaft (DEAG) has reported record annual revenue of €370 million (£315m) in 2024 but a fall in profit.
The company said it saw a temporary fall in earnings last year resulting from a strategic re-shaping of the business. It reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of €14.4m (£12.24) in 2024, down from €26.4m (£22.4m) in 2023.
Berlin-based DEAG said its revenue rise was driven by sales being up 18% on the previous year. With more than 11m tickets sold across the DEAG Group in 2024, up from 10m the previous year, the company said its rapidly expanding ticketing business was particularly successful, as was the Spoken Word & Literary Events division, which achieved a 10% share of company revenue within only three years.
Other successes highlighted by DEAG include its own international event brands such as the Christmas Garden, which runs in 15 locations across Europe, tours, and more than 30 festivals and open-air concerts including new addition the Barcelona Rock Fest.
The UK-based businesses owned by DEAG sit under the KMJ Entertainment umbrella, and include live music promoters Kilimanjaro Live, Regular Music, FORM and Singular Artists; spoken word producers Fane and How To Academy; theatrical companies Flying Music and JAS Theatricals; ticket companies Gigantic, Myticket and Tickets.ie; festivals Belladrum Tartan Heart (pictured), Let’s Rock and Pennfest; exhibition venue Arches London Bridge, production company Kontour and live events promoters and producer Showplanr.
DEAG said it strategically accepted a temporary reduction in earnings in 2024, which were largely attrinuted to investments in organisational and strategic development, particularly the restructuring of its executive Boards, as well as additional security and logistics expenses due to weather-related challenges in staging open-air events in parts of Europe.
For 2025, DEAG is aiming to sell 12 million tickets to concerts, festivals and live events. Its CEO Detlef Kornett said, “We have consistently implemented our growth strategy and made a conscious decision in 2024 to make above-average investments in our sustainable business development in order to secure our future and position ourselves in the best possible way. Successes are already visible. We started the current year with tailwind and our ticket sales are at record levels. Our event pipeline is excellently filled and we expect 2025 to be a much stronger year with a significant increase in profitability.”